Fnatic Rush Pro Silent Keyboard Review

1. Introduction2. Unboxing and First Look3. Testing4. Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

To test the Rush Pro Silent, I used it as my daily driver for nearly two weeks. During this time, I used it while playing games, typing reviews and performing other general tasks.

To start things off, let's look at the software.

The software side of things is definitely basic, but this is intentional – Fnatic want this keyboard to ‘just work', and the software is actually entirely optional.

This is because its only function is to create and map macros, so if you don't use macros, don't install the software. Users can assign macros using any one of 5 different profiles, and a total of 10 macros per profile is supported.

The macro mapping process itself is very simple, as you just need to select which key you want to map the macro to, and then select what function you want that key to have.

Personally, I am not one to tinker too much with a keyboard's settings, so this very basic approach does not bother me at all. In fact, I admire it as you can dive straight into using the board and everything works fine out-of-the-box.

Before moving on to physical performance of the Rush Pro Silent, I will also mention the keyboard's lighting. It is a red-only backlight which features 3 different brightness levels, as well a ‘breathing effect'. To adjust the backlight levels, simply use Fn+2 and Fn+8 to switch between the different brightness settings.

The LEDs do look good, and Fnatic has also fitted a red mid-plate underneath the keys which really helps the red light to spread out and create an underglow.

As for using the keyboard day-to-day, I can safely say it does what it says on the tin. Starting with the switches, the Cherry MX Silent switch is based on the MX Red switch so it has a 2mm actuation distance and a 45g actuation force requirement.

As for the ‘silent' part, it is obvious no mechanical switch is ever going to be truly silent, but I suppose calling them Cherry MX ‘Quieter' switches doesn't have quite the same ring to it. In any case, I found these switches are definitely a bit more muted than standard MX Reds but obviously they are still audible.

Using these switches while gaming is a good experience, as you would expect considering they perform just like MX Reds. They are pretty fast and nice and light, with their linear action being another reason as to why MX Reds are very popular with gamers.

Hardcore typists may prefer something with tactile feedback – MX Blues or Browns, for instance – but Fnatic Gear makes gaming keyboards so it is easy to understand why they've gone with the linear MX Silent switch.

Lastly, the Rush Pro Silent offers both NKRO and 6-key rollover, and you can choose between the two on-the-fly by pressing Fn+N, though you will have to disconnect and re-connect the USB cable to complete the process. Having both NKRO and 6-key rollover is supposedly handy for use with older applications which don't support NKRO, but I wouldn't imagine that such a scenario would apply to many gamers.

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